Pandora's Box
by McFadden
Summary: On a mission, Abby and King find something that will change things forever. What happens when the past comes back to haunt the present and things hit too close to home for King?
1. Chapter 1

A/N: 'clears throat'...I'm here again. I hope that there are a few of you left lingering around this fandom to read my newest chapter fic. This thread will not go dead damnit! Anyway, I bring you another Trinity story thanks to seeing Ryan Reynolds recently. Lets just say he _inspired me_ to write a new one. So, strap yourselves in kiddies. Please be good to me and review even if you hate it and want me to rot in hell. To those who actually have that thought, guess what...I still love you. Play nice.

McFadden-

Chapter One

_Routine...routine...routine_...

That's all this ever seemed to fucking be now was a routine. Get a callout, go kill a bunch of hemophiliac-loving pricks, go home and shower, then crash. An endless procession of killing and maiming, battering and bruising. He felt that one reverberate throughout his body, even now. His muscles were in a constant state of burning. It wasn't that he was getting used to it. _God, by no means should anyone ever get used to this!_ After Daystar, he was so certain that things would dissipate slowly, but he was wrong. It wasn't that he didn't love this anymore, he just needed a break.

King looked over at his better half, Abby, who was poised and lining up a score on some unsuspecting fanged freaks from 200 yards away. She seemed to never tire of her job. Stamina, however, wasn't always on his side. It was one of the many deceptive points of being a Nightstalker. Being unappreciated by the ignorant waking world, was another. King didn't know why he was being so bitter tonight. He just had a fog surrounding his mind. He wasn't going to let that compromise their safety though. Just a few moments more of this and everything would be over.

The smell of burning ash of their final victim brought him back to the reason why they were out on this little conquest. Apparently the local 'Suck Club' had a reluctant member. Caulder was the first to hear news about this rarity. Not many vampires resent the fact of what they are, but oddly enough there was one, and now, Abby, Caulder, and himself were looking for whoever it was. King knew all too well the feeling of being held against your own will, but judging from their information, Caulder says that the mystery vampire was still playing up the role so that the rest of them didn't turn against him, so hopefully he'd still be alive by the time they got to him. Whoever it was, King knew that they would have hell to go through in the next couple of weeks if they was going to be saved. Maybe that was the cause of all this uncertainty that King was feeling. The sound of Abby's voice in his earphone brought him back out of his head.

"I think that was the last of them. There has to be more around the inside. If this guy is still playing up to them, then they shouldn't know we are coming."

King grunted from his position on top of a fire escape.

"I hope this fucker appreciates all the shit we're doing for him."

He could almost hear Abby snigger on her mic.

"You know, that's the same thing I said when we went to rescue you."

Instead of a comeback remark, Abby heard his voice, spiteful and cold.

"Yeah well, I was being tortured. What's this ducebag's excuse? He doesn't like his playmates?"

Abby looked up at him from her spot on street. She didn't like the feeling she got from him. He wasn't exactly in the best mood when they left but this was a bit unlike him. King of all people should be sympathetic to this guy. Ever since they set foot on this building, he seemed to change. It was really disconcerting to her. He hadn't even made a joke at anyone's expense yet. So she decided to call him on it.

"What the hell is your problem tonight!"

Her hushed but venomous reply hit a chord with him and he was wrought with guilt. He didn't know the answer to her question but he didn't want her mad with him either. King sighed heavily and rubbed his beard with one hand.

"I don't know Abs, I'm sorry. I just want to go home. I don't like it here."

A moment of silence passed before she spoke. The reassurance in her voice came back over the other end of the speaker as she tried to help him.

"Soon King...very soon. I promise. Are you ready to go inside?"

King tried to switch of his emotions then, leaving room only for the task at hand. Hopping off of the stairs, he shot at the bolted door with his silencer attached to his gun, hardly making any noise at all. The steel door gave with a little persuasion and King's inhuman strength. Stepping into the dusty, dim corridor he stopped dead in his tracks causing Abby to hold off also. The since of foreboding in this place nearly knocked King over. It brought him back to his years as a vampiric slave. The feeling made his stomach tie itself in knots. Abby watched him carefully as he stood there seemingly in another world. She was about to ask what was wrong before he shook it away and started to walk again. To her, it was almost like he _really_ didn't want to be here.

There was not a sound to be heard in the place, only smoke and the rancid smell of blood and rotted human flesh. King moved through the area with a practiced ease...almost too much ease. Abby wondered if this was another place that he was held with Danica. That would at least explain the mood. But from the looks of it, she wouldn't be getting anything out of him. He remained tightlipped as soon as they stepped in here. Up ahead, they saw concrete baths with not blood, but drained human corpses in them. As sad as it was, both Abby and King were unfazed by the sight. Beyond that was a hollowed out room over to the side. He didn't like the look of what happened, or the fact that they seemed to be all alone. The silence was too eerie, but neither of them wanted to break it. King motioned for her to go around to the other end while he stuck to the left.

The room itself was pitch black with the exception of two low hanging halogen floodlights in the center of the ceiling. With his keen eyesight, King could just make out a shadow in the edges of a corner. With his electronic pistols drawn he inched closer. His senses were overpowering him and sending his mind into overdrive which hadn't happened in years, but he was unable to stop it. All he could do was wonder why.

A unexpected flash of unnatural eyes in the dark nearly sent King to the floor. The one they had come for was curled up in the shadows of the corner. Abby saw it too. Definitely a vampire, there was no doubt about that. Frightened and terribly beaten by the others. Obviously they found out why Abby and King were there and taken it out on this one. It was the one they were here for. Abby debated on how to coax the vampire from the darkness, but before she could say anything, there was movement as it crawled slowly and timidly into the light. King made a strange noise in the back of his throat causing his partner to look at him curiously. Abby saw him stiffen and immediately became aware of the drastic change again in his behavior. There was a definite horror evident in his face. But what was the most strange emotion she discovered was the sorrow and guilt she saw etched in his features. Something wasn't right here. There, in the light now, crouched a young woman, not a man, like they suspected. Her dark hair was caked with blood and her pale skin was whiter than the moon but badly cut up. Her eyes met Abby's for a moment, studying her. Their green glow was scattered with flecks of copper. A rarity among vampires. Usually, there eyes were a frosty blue. Her simple gaze was unnerving and obviously having an untimely effect on her partner when the woman's eyes strayed to him.

Time froze. If King believed in ghosts, he would've sworn that he was looking at one right then. No power he possessed, however great it was, could have prepared him for the feeling that hit him that moment. It was immediate cold sweat, dry-mouth, fear based articulation that he'd ever felt. But this was no conventional fear like the kind he had during the days of submission in the eyes of Danica. No, this was completely different. He was scared over what she knew. Some deep, convoluted secret that he never let bleed to the surface since the last time his eyes saw her. Something nobody, not even Abby, was aware of.

She looked at him, her gaze as intense as ever as she struggled to stand up and face them. Her countenance was still uncertain as though she didn't believe that they were standing there in front of her. Abby saw the power in her body, but she didn't seem to have the strength to move much. When she spoke, Abby noticed as she regarded King with a slightly frightened glance before she whispered, forcing her unused gravelly voice out of her throat.

"Three days... They've kept me here for three days. They found out my secret and punished me for it..."

The sound of her voice was enough to disturb anyone. Abby hated to even think about what they did to her. She took a sidelong look at King who was still imbedded to his spot, unmoving, useless in the moment. Looking up again, Abby saw that blood began to leak out of the corner of her mouth, dripping from her chin. She watched carefully as the woman's eyes listlessly moved around the room before she swayed and fell heavily to the floor. This snapped King awake and both of them lunged forward to her, not without Abby tossing a pissed but concerned look King's way. Caulder chose that moment in time to come over the radio and verify their situation.

"The tracker shows that you made it inside. What the condition? Somebody talk to me."

Abby took the initiative to speak so that she could watch how King reacted with the girl. She figured that he would be better suited to do it since he knew exactly how she must've felt and what she went through.

"We found her. It's bad Caulder...She's in grave condition. Call Dash and make sure he has two units of cleaned, oxygenized blood ready. The girl lost a lot of her own. She's going to need it if the treatment is going to work."

The smooth textured voice responded with a bit of surprise at the report.

"Gotcha. So we have a woman on our hands then. I'll inform Dash. See you outside."

King was bent over the woman. Abby could've sworn she heard him whisper into the girl's ear as she saw how he carefully moved her hair from her face and gingerly looked over her injures. Her shoulder blade was shredded and judging from the bruising under the skin of her abdomen, more than one of her ribs were shattered. As her hair became unstuck from her neck, Abby saw the telltale glyph there, not noticing how King flinched when he saw it too. It was a symbol that she'd never seen before, but it looked like a variant of the Talos mark. Crouching down, King gathered her into his arms without taking any precaution that she was a vampire. This grated on Abby and she finally spoke up in lieu of his carelessness. That was something they couldn't afford right now.

"King, unconscious or not, she's still highly dangerous."

He looked at her after he made sure the body in his arms was secure. It was the first time that night that she realized how tired and taxed he looked. His voice only verified it when he spoke.

"She's not going to wake up for a while Whistler. She's out cold. Even if she did, she'd be in too much pain to do much else than lay here."

Abby shrugged disapprovingly and scoffed. But said nothing while putting her bow back onto her belt, pissed. Finally, her anger getting the better of her, she replied acerbically.

"Great, I don't recognize the mark and we don't even know her fucking name."

There she went. Storming away. Before King rose to his feet, he sighed heavily and yelled after her, begrudgingly.

"It isn't Danica's mark!"

Abby whirled around clearly annoyed with King's whole presence all night and looked at him with a bit of confusion, but clearly expecting some sort of answer. He just closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"It's mine..."


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: You _do_ still love me! Thank you all for reviewing. It was entirely more than what I expected. I'm glad to see y'all have taken to my plot so well. So I guess I have some backtracking to do in this chapter. Must explain myself, yes? Just a quick apology for odd mistakes on spelling. Ninety percent of the letters on my laptop have been rubbed off from all of the writing abuse it goes through, so I'm sorry. Have fun at my expense. It feels great to be back!

McFadden-

Chapter Two

Abby stood, dumbfounded for a moment before coming back to her senses. Her body was numb to everything as what he said echoed through her ears. She just couldn't believe what she heard. Her voice was barely audible as she attempted to speak.

"What?"

King just looked down, not being able to meet her eyes. Abby was trying to process and wrap her mind around what he could've possibly meant by that. She just whispered.

"You made a vampire?"

When King didn't reply, finding it more comforting to idly stroke a strangers wrist, Abby's blood began to boil. Instead of meeting her accusatory stare, he looked down at the woman. She knew that it was true then and she screamed at him.

"You fucking _made_ a VAMPIRE!"

Abby approached him haughtily, berating him with questions.

"What's her name then King? Huh? Who is she?"

She got closer to him and saw that he instantly grew defensive while trying to keep his composure.

"Not now Abby..."

But she certainly wasn't finished. This news repulsed her to no end. The very poster child for suffering from vampire blood had actually made one for himself. It changed every thought she had about him. She just kept goading him. Abby couldn't hide the spite in her voice. The sarcasm was spitting out in every word

"Well this definitely explains a lot. No wonder you wanted to go home."

He looked at her again in warning. There was enough problems adding up for him right now, and he didn't want to have to explain himself in this mental state.

"Abby, I told you to drop it. You don't know anything of what you're talking about."

There's no mistake that she was bordering on a dangerous subject, but she just couldn't seem to let it go. She was as determined just as she was stubborn. She didn't feel like she knew him now.

"Do you have your own personal harem of vampires? Or was she _your special little pet?_ She certainly is pretty enough...Tell me who she is!"

She watched how King looked at the woman. It was like she was made of glass to him. But as Abby said those hurtful things, he just shut his eyes, hoping to shut her out in return. When that proved irrelevant, King finally had all he could stand.

"Keep pushing me Whistler!"

The violence in his tone was enough to shock her into silence. He had never spoken to her that way. But, it was the way he _looked_. She thought that at any moment he was going to grab her by the throat and rip her apart. He was reacting in part of his primal protective nature. Abby couldn't think of a point where King had scared her so directly before. She just stared at him with a mixture of disbelief and nervous stupor. His eyes tore into her and after a moment his shoulders slouched and he got up off of the cement with the girl head resting on his left shoulder, her arms hanging limply around his neck. When he spoke again, it was still short, clipped, and in a measured restraint, but the violence was gone out of it. That left behind only the rawness of exhaustion and faint worry for person in his arms.

"She's gonna die if we don't get her back soon."

Without so much as a glance behind to see if she followed, King left Abby trailing after him. As promised, Caulder was waiting for them outside in the Expedition. He merely raised an eyebrow at the atmospheric drop between Abby and King, but knew better to keep his mouth closed. Deciding to take notice instead, of the more than ominous woman King held. Abby was right, she didn't look like she was going to make it through the night. If time was on their side and they were lucky enough that she retained some strength, once the blood was transfused back into her system, maybe they could at least get some inside information from her before she died. He wasn't going to get his hopes up.

Everyone got into the car without a word. Making the drive a little awkward for Caulder since he had no clue as to what was going on. He looked in the rearview at Abby, who was seated as close to the window as she could get without falling out of the car. She looked highly uncomfortable and disturbed. His eyes looked over to King who was in the back seat with the woman laid out next to him. He seemed very attentive of her. Despite Caulder's nagging curiosity, he chose to let the questions lie until later. It didn't take an idiot to realize that now wasn't the perfect time to ask anything.

Twenty minutes passed, they pulled up to the Hideout and Caulder grabbed King's duffle bag for him, figuring he would have a difficult enough time trying to get inside. Dash met them at the entrance and took the girl from there to the medical room. Abby steered clear from King who followed Dash. Caulder threw a concerned eye her way and she waved it back. Making it clear that she wanted to be left alone. In the medical area, Dash set up the IV for the blood as King retrieved a wash cloth and some rubbing alcohol to clean things up a bit. Caulder came in and King looked up, wondering where Whistler went to hide. It took the foreigner a good fifteen minutes to prep for the EDTA administration. With the girl in a coma, it would be easier to do since there would be no fighting involved. He moved her hair away from sticking to her face and made an offhanded comment to no one in particular.

"She's a pretty one."

Hannibal's eyes darted to the Norwegian, who in turn, looked back at him. King just nodded silently in agreement. Caulder could see something more there though. His colleague was acting weird, but he disregarded it because everyone was stressed and tired, not just King. Before leaving, Caulder said one last thing.

"She shouldn't be alone when she wakes up."

King just nodded. His mind was too busy whirling around with all sorts of questions and conflicting thoughts. Still being aware of his surroundings, he didn't miss it when Abby entered the room an hour later. He just chose to ignore it. She was quietly watching him from the door. She'd clearly beaten herself up for what happened earlier. Her face was stricken with fatigue as much as his must've been. She startled when his voice unexpectedly broke the silence in the form of a quiet whisper.

"Her name is Joselyn. She was just 21 when I first saw her..."

Abby realized that he was going to tell her the whole story so she slipped into a chair and settled in for the explanation as King continued, completely engrossed in the past of his mind, not looking up from his hands.

"That was three years ago. Danica drug me to this 'Eyes Wide Shut' sort of fetish party for sone ungodly reason. I noticed her first. There were nothing but guards outside until I looked over and saw this anxious and shaking woman who didn't look like she belonged there at all. Danica taunted me about her from the moment I expressed interest. Something so innocent shouldn't have been there. I would find out only later that she'd been led there by a guy she was friends with. You'll never guess who tried to get in her pants. He was a pro wrestler at the time. You and I know him more affectionately later as the pillow-biting cock smoker, Jarko Grimlin."

It was the only joke he made tonight, but Abby was shocked to hear more ties that went on in the years before she knew King. He glanced up at her for a second, then returned to his former stance.

"...Yeah, I was surprised too. But it never turned out. It seems that once she found out what the party was really about, she refused to go inside and apparently Jarko was just too stupid to try and force her. So, he left her outside. God, it was such a bad mistake for me to look at her! She was more beautiful than anyone that could come into that house and Dan knew it. So, she had Asher go and persuade her to come over. Apparently it was proven a difficult job to do, because she refused until Danica walked up, tugging me with her. As soon as our eyes met I knew that Danica took notice of my reaction and reveled in the fact that, despite my current situation then, I was attracted to this one. As soon as I saw that bitch smile I knew nothing good could come from it. I tried to warn Joselyn to leave by pleading at her with looks, but the Slut Puppy was watching me too closely and grabbed her up and out of my sight. Jealousy was never one of Danica's strong points..."

He paused to rake his hands in his hair. Abby didn't dare say a word. She just witnessed as her friend began to mentally breakdown infront of her, and there was nothing she could do or say to stop it. This was a long lost demon coming back to haunt him. He broke off again and looked at Joselyn laying there on the bed.

"Josie..."

His voice held a tenderness to it that was foreign to Abby. It was so soft and sad. She saw the pull that just saying her name was having on his emotions. By that nickname alone, she realized that King had invested more than just a night with this girl. She feared at any moment now, he was going to lose it. He fleetingly pressed the heels of his palms into his eye sockets to get rid of the mistiness that was forming there. Giving him a second, he cleared his throat slightly and started again.

"It wasn't till three days later that I saw her again. Dan decided that she wasn't going to _feed me_ loke she did by bringing in blood I was chained to my _favorite_ fucking floor, when the door opened and Jarko threw her unceremoniously to the ground infront of me. I remember her face. It was exactly the same as I saw her tonight. Apparently Jarko raped her, but Danica had bigger plans. Josie was so scared. She just cried and cried until I got close enough to touch her. I held her against me until she calmed down enough to speak. All she kept asking was why. Why did they do this to her? And I didn't have any answers for her Abby... So I just rocked her back and forth like a baby whispering that I would never hurt her. She had no reason to trust me. She didn't know anything about me. For all she knew, I could've been another decoy. She didn't even question about the reality of vampires. I'll never know why she believed me, but she did. How anyone could retain so much beauty after being beaten like that was beyond me."

Abby chose to be brave and ask a question.

"Tonight, when she said 'Three days, three days they tortured me...' I saw you shut down. That scared the hell out of me King. That why I got so angry. I didn't understand what I thought I was seeing."

King sighed.

"_I_ didn't understand what I was seeing. I thought she was dead..."

He scooted closer to the bed and took Joselyn's limp hand in his, caressing the back of it soothingly with his thumb. Distractedly, he brought it to his mouth, kissing it.

"It's okay..."

He spoke to her as though she had told him she was frightened. He then picked up again where the story left off.

"We were completely alone for three hours before Danica showed up. She took one look at us wrapped around each other for comfort and laughed maniacally in amusement. She passed by me, grabbing me by the hair, tugging it in her _affectionate_ way saying, 'Oh King, you look so weak, starved really...' Eyeing Josie, the most sadistic smirk spread across her face. I'd never felt so sick to my stomach as I did then wondering what she was thinking. She walked over and ran her hand over the top of Josie's head and I felt her cringe in my arms. My senses pinpointed on Josie to try and escape Danica, but I didn't miss what she said next. 'If you love this one so much, then I guess you'll have no problem making her one of us.' I'll never forget the look in Josie's eyes when she looked at me then. It was pure terror. "

Abby's eyes snapped up. King just kept talking, afraid that if he stopped, he wouldn't be able to start again.

"Danica was right in my ear. 'Aww...looks like she doesn't love you as much anymore. Don't worry King, that always happens. You still have me...' Josie was begging, telling me that I wasn't like this. But Dan's voice was pushing, coaxing, and my thirst was so great. So I bit down..."

He was shaking by that point.

"...God the screaming Abby. It was so loud. I can still feel her blood. I can't get away from it."

Abby met his eyes.

"King, that's not you anymore, you know that. There was no control over what happened."

King just shook his head as though he didn't believe her.

"I'm the reason why she's like this. One thing you don't understand about a bloodletting is that once you make a vampire, you always feel them inside you. I can't lie and say that I didn't look for her every time I went out to hunt when Danica and Asher were still alive. And I can't promise that I would've killed her either. After Drake's death, I was almost certain that she went down with the rest of them. It killed me to know that. Until tonight, I've never felt her presence. When we walked into that building it was so strong that I couldn't breathe. I thought it was just because that's where they kept us until she turned. After that, she never looked at me in the face without pure hatred."

Had Abby known all of this, she would've left earlier that night when he asked. But there was one thing he was leaving out.

"What about the mark?"

King shut his eyes tight and clenched his jaw.

"I did it myself. Danica wouldn't let her leave my side no matter how much she screamed and swore to comply with whatever they wanted her to do, just as long as she could get away from me, she'd do anything. But my Miss Murder had sick pleasures of seeing our agony play out like a movie. At first, I apologized and tried to at least touch her. She'd just snap and bare her small fangs at me. It was like that for a year. Sometimes, when she wasn't aware, I would catch her looking into space with so much sadness and regret. It built up until I couldn't take it anymore. I don't know if it was out of anger because she would never look at me, or the face that I wanted to remind her of who I was. It was never that she _belonged_ to me, even though I wished she did. I just remember diving up to Danica and telling her what I wanted to do. She was happy as an addict with a line of coke. Asher made a ritual of it. He brought it a consummation bed with ties for her wrists, and Dan brought in A newly changed Jarko to watch the spectacle. I'd lost my mind that day. I didn't care that there was a whole audience there to watch me. I just wanted Josie to be mine. It was the sickest I've ever been because I enjoyed having her under me. Just to get a reaction out of her when she tried to hold back..."

He paused knowing what Whistler must've been thinking at that point.

"I guess you didn't know me as well as you thought."

Abby ran a hand through her hair trying to get a feel for what she should say to him as he waited.

"King, you were malnourished and weak. That alone can make people lash out and act crazy. Lest we forget that you _were_ a vampire. Their actions are different than ours and you know that. What you were, isn't who you are now."

"Yeah, but she doesn't know that."

Abby just took a moment to look at hin directly. Movement caused both of their eyes to shift to the bed as Josie turned slowly. She was beginning to come out of it. Abby got up and walked over to where King stood up. She watched his reaction to Josie and jusr replied quietly before leaving the room.

"Then you have to show her."


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Weekend Update! Here's more kids. I hope you like where this is going. The reviews have been a great fuel to the creative fire. I've worked my imagination to hell and back for this plot so that it will work. I'm praying that it does. Anyway, read on and be, shocked, awed, amazed, or whatever noun you wish. Also, don't be afraid to tell me if you like where it's headed or not, I dig that kind of input. Also, if you are so inclined to go see The Da Vinci Code, I do recommend it. If you're someone who isn't into its subject matter, then forget I mentioned it. Everyone is entitled to their opinions and hopefully I don't offend you by suggesting it. But, as a side note. If you're into movie scores...that one is _beautiful_. Alright, I'll shut up now. Go read...

McFadden-

Chapter Three

As Abby left, she debated on whether or not to let Caulder know that the girl was awake. She decided against it, since she knew that King needed to talk to her, and, if anyone, King could be the one to know what to do if she started reacting to the EDTA. As lucid as he was when he went through it, there was no doubt in her mind that he remembered exactly what it was like. He needed to get this thing resolved as much as he could if he was going to have any sanity left. It needed to happen soon, Josie was dying...

Just as King had suspected, she was too weak to do anything but lay there, despite of her wanting to do otherwise. She may have been still, but he couldn't mistake _that_ look. He knew that if she had the strength to scream at him, she would have. Judging from the pressure of her grip on his wrist, she could still easily break his hand. She open her mouth, sticky with clotting blood, she spoke unevenly.

"You fucking bastard..."

For a minute, King almost smiled at the familiarity of her comment. Then he remember why it was that she used it.

"Nice to see you too Josie."

He thought that maybe she was just going to stare him down and refuse to talk anymore, but he was so wrong. With a small snap, King felt an immense pain shoot through his arm. She had broken his wrist without so much as flinching. To prevent from screaming, King just clenched his jaw and bit the inside of his cheek, giving her a hard look. His breathing labored as she released him. There was such a contempt for him there. Her eyes stood out as they glowed preternaturally when she whispered through her tiny fanged teeth.

"Don't _ever_ call me that again. No one calls me that."

Trying to recover somewhat, King replied with a scratchy voice.

"That's because I'm the only one who ever did."

A sadness flickered through her eyes as she acknowledged that. She loved the way he used her name, not that he ever knew that. Then again, he had to have known to some effect, because even through his years of vampirism, King was the only one to use it. She would've killed anyone else who tried to. He noticed her body started to shake, making her eyes drift closed. He knew that was a preemptive sign to a blinding pain that she was experiencing, yet she didn't attempt to scream. Her pain tolerance had always been higher than his. Although it was a little on the reverse side. Break his wrist and he would be able to handle it. Give him a paper cut, and he was a blubbering idiot. He was startled when her fingertips touched his injured wrist soothingly as she studied it. Her touch was as light as a feather and didn't cause any further damage to his throbbing arm. To his surprise, she spoke calmly.

"Can you feel this?"

Thoughts raced at the multiple possible meanings of that question, but he decided to just answer the literal one.

"Yes, I can."

But he could also feel so much more than just the pain. There was longing, a needing to feel someone's touch again. He knew that, only because he had spent years dying for her to touch him like that. Josie settled back into the pillows and looked away from him tiredly. Her voice telling on her in a subtle way.

"Good, at least you're alive..."

As much as she blamed him for what she had become, she could tell that he took just as much responsibility for it. She saw what he was about to do and spoke up before he had a chance to say anything.

"How can you expect me to forgive you for what you've done to me? You hated every agonizing second of being a vampire..."

King couldn't take it anymore and finally screamed out.

"And I hated every second of my new life because of what I've done! Can't you see that? Even when I was still a vampire, there wasn't a day I didn't regret pulling you into my sadistic little world. Danica would've killed you if I hadn't made you one! You were the only person I knew that didn't fear me because of what I was. It was only after you turned that you hated to even be in my presence. You resented me then because I gave you my blood. But why didn't you run like hell when you so obviously had me figured out the night we met!"

Joselyn eyes had been staring hard and calculated at him up until he finished, when they finally lowered in submission. And without the slightest grit of anger to her voice, she replied.

"Because I saw you then as I'm seeing you now."

King was at a momentary loss for words. Studying her was all he could do. She sighed heavily and gripped the sheets as a wave of pain coursed through her. When it subsided, she spoke again.

"I thought you were different King. Even after you bit me the first time. I knew Danica forced you to do that. But...she didn't force you to brand me, or to rape me."

King winced at her last comment as he felt the power of it slam against his body. He knew that's what he did. And no amount of apology or repentance could justify that. Just the fact that he was put into the same category as Jarko Grimwood made him despise himself. King hadn't forgotten that Jarko raped her, but it was only now that he realized the full effect that his actions had on him. _That's why she wouldn't look at him._ Even though Jarko raped her first, Josie knew there was no stopping it. What was worse, was the fact that she trusted King even after he turned her, but he still chose to do that. King felt so sick. _He stole something from her that he could never give back._ It wasn't sex, it wasn't virginity, it was trust. Completely engrossed with his self-loathing, King could only sit there. Joselyn broke the silence once more.

"Why would force that on someone who was just like you?"

She just asked the ten million dollar question and he just shook his head.

"I don't have an answer for that Josie. Maybe it was because you _weren't_ like me and I knew it."

She coughed heavily, and King was noticing the small beads of sweat that was forming on her skin. Her fever was breaking. The next stage, anger. This was know as the 'Truth Hour,' a very vital part of detox where they would be able to ask her any question and she would willingly tell them the truth. He grabbed a cloth from the sanitation sink, and began to wipe down her face. Her eyes were glassy with internal thoughts, but as soon as she felt the coolness of the washcloth her vision came alive again when she looked at him.

"But I was like you King, I_ am _like you. I just think that you saw blind innocence infront of you and wanted that piece of you back that she took. You can't tell me that the very second you met Danica, you thought she was a fucking girl scout. No! You knew she was trouble and you went after her anyway. Well, fuck me, but I did the same thing to you! Granted you weren't a masochistic sadist like your mistress bitch, but it wouldn't have taken an idiot to see that you sure fucking weren't Wally Cleaver."

King's mind reeled. Here was the one person who he had spent years trying to crack, finally talking to him and uninhibited by drugs, but now, he would've rather heard a lie than the truth. The truth simply hurt too much. There was something he was dying to understand though.

"Why didn't she kill you when she took you away from me?"

Jocelyn had to swallow the feeling in her stomach that was attached to that question. Hoping like hell that he wouldn't catch her emotion and confront her about it.

"Do you honestly think Danica would kill off your new obsession? Not if she couldn't enjoy seeing your face while she did it. In the meantime I had to keep of the charade of pretending you meant nothing to me. I was lucky she drew more pleasure from seeing you suffer from my silence than she would have if she killed me infront of you. I kept on pretending until she finally drew some respect from my coldness, even after you were rescued. So, she kept me alive and I've had to live this way ever since."

He would be lying if he said that the newly learned knowledge that he actually meant something to her didn't bring a sense of hope that she still retained some feelings for him. But he cursed himself still for letting the whole thing go too far.

"If I could've put you out of your misery, I would have. But it was never easy. Every time I thought about it I felt empty. I'm surprised to find you didn't kill yourself."

Joselyn saw the apology in his eyes and sighed, resigning to trace the blue web of veins that stood out against her alabaster skin.

"I almost did..."

King became frustrated as his hatred grew for the dead slag that put them through this.

"God, I just don't understand Danica's motives!"

To his shock, Joselyn began to laugh. Not at him, but at some thought stuck in her mind.

"As much as she was a fucking narcissistic whore, she was a smart whore. She knew you would go looking for me. It was her final strategy at getting one final stab at you. She never counted on the fact that I would disappear to hide out until she was dead. Didn't you ever wonder why it was so easy for you to find out that she had Drake in the first place?"

King remembered the whole process the Nightstalkers went through to decipher Drake's existence.

"It was from all the artifacts that I took from her."

Joselyn peered at him through her heavy lidded eyes.

"Didn't you ever wonder why it was all conveniently at your disposal while Danica was inconspicuously absent?

The dawning of realization was painfully evident on his face. He looked at her in complete shock.

"You did that?"

She just nodded faintly.

"I was hoping that you would find him and kill him before she could use his power to her advantage. But there were just too many of them working against me then."

A scream tore from her throat suddenly and shook King to the core. He jumped up, remembering this particular reaction to the treatment. Grabbing a small titanium plate, he anchored her body to the bed with his arms and stuck the plate into her mouth.

"Bite down Josie. Bite down..."

She did as she was told and it didn't faze King to hear the slight crunch that followed as the metal gave way with her strength. Her teeth had punched through the seemingly powerful alloy. When her shivering subsided from the somatesthesia associated with sudden and immense bouts of pain, King ran his hand over her head in a calming motion and removed the now mangled plate from her mouth. His tone was quieting.

"There, that's better now."

She took a moment to recover before resumed speaking. Her voice sounding more forced from the screaming.

"She knew once Blade was back and found out you were the one who got him out, she wouldn't have much longer. Even with Drake there...

Blood trailed from her lips and he bent over to wipe it off, getting so close to her face. She just continued.

"She knew about Daystar, everybody did..."

King looked at her with a mixture of awe and sadness. He didn't know if the information had ever reached her about the virus. He only hoped that it didn't, but he was wrong. He searched her for a moment and then asked.

"Did you think it was going to kill you?"

Her eyes glazed over with unshed tears, as King looked on with just as much anguish as he saw in her. He'd only seen her cry once before. Her voice softened substantially when she looked at him again.

"I was hoping on it. But it didn't have an effect on me. I don't know what was worse. That it didn't work on me, or that fact that once it killed Danica, I'd be one of the only ones left."

King felt his throat constrict. He didn't want to think of her suffering anymore. Withholding his own grief he smoothed her cheek as she finally, for the first time since the fist night they met, she leaned into his touch instead of shying away from it. It nearly broke his heart at the cruelness that his life often dealt him.

"You were around Danica till the beginning of the end. I don't understand why it wouldn't work on you too. But you don't have to worry about that anymore. It'll be over soon... I promise. You were too far gone when we found you. Even for the medicine here. They all say your going to die. I just wanted you to die with the dignity of being human."

A tear finally escaped as she grabbed his hand and offered him a sad smile.

"Human or not, you can't die with dignity. Death is anything but dignified. It's cold, harsh, and most unforgiving of all...it's something that you have to face alone. I've spent countless times trying to justify death as I prepared to walk out in the sun. All the solutions still left me with one painful truth. No matter how pretty the package it was wrapped in, the reality is, I was still alone."

Her head turned away from King before she could see his reaction. Knowing from the quiver in her voice, King let her look away. He knew that she didn't want to see him upset. He just picked up her hand and brought it up to his face, letting the trace of a tear that had fallen to his cheek, settle itself right on her knuckle. He felt her body shrink into itself while she tried to fight the sobs that wracked it.

"You're not alone anymore."

Her red and tired eyes turned around to meet his.

"I'm not going to die King. "

Confusion hit him hard. He looked at her with furrowed brows.

"What do you mean?"

She took some needed deep breaths before gathering strength to continue talking.

"There's a reason I didn't succumb to all of it."

King couldn't wrap his mind around how she could survive much longer. Her betrayers had nearly her dry of her life. She looked at him with her intense eyes.

"You forget... Danica never bit me. It's not her blood that is running through my veins."

She dragged one finger lightly down a vein line in King's arm watching his muscles tense at first, then relax as she touched him. Meeting his eyes, he could tell that she was going to faint at any moment. Her voice cracked slightly when she said one last thing before her head lolled back.

"It's yours..."


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: I'm back up here again. Thanks to everyone who is roughing it out with me. My loyal fans, you know I love you the most! (But don't tell the others okay?) Strap yourselves in and have fun.

Lots of hugs and kisses!

McFadden-

Chapter Four

King had managed to vastly piss both Caulder and Dash off for the last hour by locking the med-room door. They had come running downstairs to investigate when they heard Josie scream, but they were seconds too late. King had barricaded the door with the rolling cabinet and the pressure of his body weight against it to enforce the lock. Caulder had spent fifteen minutes cursing him out in his native Norwegian tongue. Once that stopped, King could hear nothing else and figured they had given up. Ge used the newly found quiet time mostly to digest and reflect on the matters that were brought to his attention by he and Joselyn brief but intense discussion.

The silence was broken by a dull thud before everything that was stacked against the door fell over and Abby stood in its place with Dash and Caulder. She glowered at King disapprovingly but unlike the other two with her, Abby winked. Dash spoke first.

"Is she awake?"

King tossed an obvious, smart-assed look at the still form lying on the bed. Giving Dash a 'what do you think shithead' look. The other man just shrugged it off and walked over to the cot, but not before slapping King hard upside his head for being a dick.

"She must be having night terrors."

Judging from the subtle hints in Abby's body language, no one else knew that Josie had even moved. Caulder checked the machines for her vitals while Dash cleaned up the more violent of her wounds.

"Well her signs have improved, but I still afraid that she won't take. It's all too little too late. Just as well though, she's better off this way."

A thought flashed through King's mind, stemming from the last thing Josie said to him. He didn't know if it would work, but it was worth a shot.

"What if we transfuse some of my blood?"

Dash tossed him a crazy look.

"Hear me out... If I gave her some of my blood, wouldn't that jumpstart her immune system and up her practically nonexistent white blood cell count?"

Caulder looked at him skeptically and Dash was now completely ignoring any more of King's bright idea's. Then, like a true friend, Abby came to his defense.

"Yeah! That _should_ work. The blood packs we gave her were genetically stripped. Maybe if we used King's blood, the natural nutrients could help her."

Abby was the only one who knew why King offered his own blood. King just thought she was being loyal, he didn't know that she had overheard his and Josie's shouting match while she was calibrating her bow on the roof.

There was really no need to let Caulder and Dash on to the secret until Joselyn's condition started to improve and she and King had enough time on their own to settle their past. By the sound of things earlier, they had only begun to break the surface. After much deliberation and some smooth talking by Whistler, Caulder agreed, somewhat reluctantly, to give the idea a try. Dash could care less. His mind was made up that she was already done for.

Abby volunteered herself quickly to be the one to do the job of drawing King's blood just so she could talk to King alone._ And maybe to stick a big needle in his arm, but that's besides the point._ Once Caulder left, taking Dash with him, Abby looked at King expectantly and then eyed his partially hidden, and badly swelling wrist. The sight made her smile slightly in amusement.

"Let me guess... momentary lapse of judgment, or rough and tantrik sex? Taking in account the comatose woman in the corner, I'm betting on the former of the two."

King smirked and her. _She knew him so well_...

"A little bit of both actually. And how do you know I didn't just wear her out?"

Abby snickered at him as she collected the various things she would need for drawing his blood.

"She looks like she would make you a dead man in one fail swoop and because I _know you _King..."

As Abby was wiping the inside of his elbow with an alcohol swab, He wagged his eyebrows.

"You mean _know_ in the biblical sense..."

Abby gave him a charming smile before she stabbed him in the arm with the syringe, causing him to yelp like an injured puppy.

"Jesus Christ woman! What kind of a sadist are you?"

Abby filled vile after vile with his dark red blood and smirked.

"You should learn not to piss off someone with your precious veins in their hands."

She collected the tubes and shook them so that the blood settled onto the bottom. There was enough for at least one unit of blood. Hopefully that will prove to be enough. Turning to a more serious tone Abby went on.

"So do you think this will really work?"

Holding a cotton ball to the pinprick, King looked over to Joselyn laying in the bed and sighed.

"It's got to Abby. After all this time, I finally have the chance to make up for the one mistake I was selfish enough to make, and it wasn't against my own will."

Abby ruffled his hair and reassured him.

"You meant a lot more to her than she led you to believe..."

Abby hoped that what she was saying was helping to comfort him. He was growing more anxious by the minute. King knew that Abby heard the whole fiasco between he and Joselyn. If anyone could make sense of it, she could. He looked at her with his startling brown eyes that looked completely void of hope.

"She's haunted me for years Abs. Now that she's actually here, I don't know what the fuck is going to happen..." I was led to believe a lot of things that weren't true when I was under the fang. Why should this be any different?"

It was a rhetorical question, King went down to his knees and rested his head heavily again Abby's stomach. She ran her fingers through his hair comfortingly and answered him anyway.

"Because _this_ hurts more..."

He wrapped his powerful arms tightly around her waist and pressed his cheek against her stomach. With a quiet voice, King whispered in anguish.

"You're right..."

Abby bent over and kissed his hair and he pulled her down with him, kissing her all over her face as he spoke.

"God Abby, I'd die without you."

Looking in on the scene, Josie smiled, her fangs small from receding back into her gums. Maybe King had changed after all.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Boo! Hugs to everyone who's reading and a personal visit from King to those who review. So here's another chapter. It's on the lighter side but we will be delving into how Josie comes into play with the Nightstalkers in the coming installments so enjoy the goofiness while you can. For now, I must go to sleep. I have a long two days of work left till the weekend, so pray for me. I love you all!

McFadden-

Chapter Five

Abby took the blood she collected from King and quickly put the tubes in a IV feed straight to Joselyn's veins. After letting King calm down from his emotional outburst, she decided to look at his wrist. Determining that he needed to keep it still she sighed and ran her fingers through her hair looking about the room. Getting up she started rummaging through the various cabinets and medical supplies. A minute or two passed and she started to grow frustrated. King knew this because she started talking to herself.

"I know it's in here somewhere..."

Oddly distracted by the metal stirrups that were attached to the hospital, King touched the pedal shaped device and then looked up at his partner.

"What are you looking for?"

She stopped long enough to answer and did a double take when she saw what he was fascinated with. Although, it didn't entirely surprise her.

"I hope you don't grow attached to those things. I don't think anyone in the Honeycomb is going to be having a baby anytime soon."

King wiggled his eyebrows purposely at her and taking special attention in her.

"I wouldn't be so sure of that Whistler."

She gave him a brief appalled look.

"Sometimes you disgust me King, really you do."

He smiled idiotically at her.

"I always try to do my best Pumpkin.. But I bet our kid would look damn cute."

She laughed.

"Who says you'd be the father. I'd shack up with Caulder. What if I want my kid to have an accent."

She challenged him and he looked shocked.

"You wouldn't dare..."

One quirk of her eyebrow told him otherwise. He scoffed.

"Whistler, you've lost your mind. Besides, accents-smaccents! I'd teach that kid a whole new vocabulary."

She groaned as she went back to her futile search as King eyed her, the stirrups now entirely forgotten. Neither were they aware that Josie was watching their little interaction as she pretended to still be asleep.

"Now, what is it that you were trying to find?"

Abby's head poked out of the largest cabinet, spilling the majority of its contents in the process, and grumbled throwing a piece of gauze out of her way.

"Do you happen to know where the wrist brace is?"

King answered quickly as though it was an everyday question.

"Four door, on the left, by the sink. Second shelf."

Abby stopped and stared, bewildered.

"Wow..."

King chuckled and shrugged.

"Hey, can I help the fact that I get banged up worse than Paris Hilton?"

Abby shot him a horribly grossed out look.

"Oh God!...Bad analogy King. That's the last thing I wanted to think about."

He laughed as Abby grabbed the elusive brace and sat down on the floor next to him. King looked up at her with an amused grin.

"What? Not a fan of night vision?"

Abby, despite tremendous effort, cracked a smile.

"Quit it and give me your hand please."

He obliged only smiling smugly. Abby folded the velcro over his swollen wrist and set is so that it would cause the least amount of pain. She moved it carefully to test his range of motion until he stiffed and then she knew how far he could move it.

"It'll be fine in a week or so. It isn't broken."

She got up to go back to her offices downstair, but before she could get out the doorway King cleared his throat.

"Abby..."

She turned around and stared at King with raised eyebrows. King held out his injured wrist and stuck out his bottom lip, making him look pitiful, and making Abby eye it like it was the last thing she wanted to come in contact with.

"...Kiss it."

Abby tried to glare at him seriously but ended up failing miserably and smiling.

"That's it? C'mon, I'm in pain here."

Rolling her eyes, she replied and turned to the hallway.

"You are not!"

King got a slightly warning tone to his voice.

"Abby."

Sighing dejectedly, Abby knew from the sound that if she didn't comply with his request, that he would find a way to make her miserable until his wrist healed. So, she walked back in, smirked, and kissed his hand with a little more pressure. King gave out a light sigh of release.

"Yeah...that was great."

Abby closed her eyes and shook her head.

"You are such a sad, _sad_ man..."

She grabbed the clipboard of Josie's stats for Dash and headed for the door, but King was not deterred

"My hand got to second base with Whistler."

Abby waved off his comment and called from the stairs.

"Have fun with your friend King."

Even though she couldn't see him, King stuck his tongue out at her. He turned around to find Josie sitting and smiling at him. She leaned up carefully and spoke in a scratchy voice.

"I like her."

King looked back at the hallway and gave a boyish grin to the empty space.

"Yeah, me too."

Walking up to the edge of the bed, he sat down and checked out her incisors closely. They were as tiny as the fangs of a kitten, but if anyone has ever been bitten by a kitty will tell you that it can still hurt. Her color looked a little less than dead than it had before but the halos around her eye sockets were still a smoky gray.

"How are you feeling?"

Taking a deep breath, Josie replied softly.

"I'm not sure I feel anything, to tell you the truth. Is that normal?"

King nodded reassuringly and looked at the level of the contents in the IV bags.

"Yeah, it's just the blood I gave you. That's a good sign though. Means the cure is working."

He saw the hint of a half smile that graced her lips.

"Hmm...tell me what it's like to be human again."

He thought long and hard, he would rather die than turn to the blood again, but being a Nightstalker wasn't peaches and cream.

"Being human in my line of is definitely difficult, but it's a far cry from being a vampire. Our line of work has its trying days though. Today being a prime example..."

Josie took in his words and frowned.

"I'm sorry..."

King looked at her and quickly dispelled her guilt.

"No, no! I'm glad it was you. Do you know how much you've kept me awake at nights over the years. I'm just relieved that your safe now."

She felt around blindly for his hand and he picked hers up.

"I know that things can't go back to the way it was for us, but I hope I can help your friends find the ones left who did this to me."

King was apprehensive about asking this one question that had been bothering him for a long time.

"Is there anyone left that survived the Daystar Virus?"

She shook her head, causing King to breathe a sigh of relief, until he saw the look on her face. Her porcelain brows knitted, not even wrinkling under her still vampiric complexion.

"But there is someone still around that knows you very well. And you know him too, but I don't think you were ever conscious when he came around. He's been looking for you. And now that he knows that you've got me, it'll only be a matter of time before he finds you."


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: My God, I've updated! What is the world coming to when a writer can't find the time for her own guilty pleasures? The news/excuses: I'm working on a book. Shocking huh! It's my own creation and hopefully one day it will be made into a movie that people will write fanfiction about, that'd be nice wouldn't it? The circle will be complete. The other factor is that I'm moving into a bigger place and it's been hectic. Forgive me...pleeease? I haven't forgotten you! Let's see if the fire is still in me.

Love to all!

McFadden-

**Chapter 6**

King looked at her skeptically.

"Okaaaay, that was unneeded. So, you mean some vampire straggler is going to stalk me?"

Tapping his finger on his chin, he considered it for a moment.

"My first stalker...well this isn't at _all_ what I had in mind."

Even Josie could tell he wasn't taking anything seriously. She sighed heavily. How could she have forgotten that he was like this almost 'round the clock. Suddenly she felt worse for the female Nightstalker as King continued to joke.

"Hmm..I better clean the place up if we're going to have someone looking in on us."

Now he was just agitating and Josie only had so many working nerves that he could play with. But she knew just what to do to make him shut up.

"Hannibal, I'm serious!"

King winced. She'd sounded so much like Danica when she was mad. Looking at her, he could see the blood, _his blood_, flushing her cheeks with anger. She closed her eyes and counted herself down until she was calm.

"King, I never said it was a vampire. He's a familiar, named Gabriel. Asher kept him around, few of us even knew about him. He knows everything and he's taken the vampire stragglers and given them infinite knowledge of the organization you are running here. Asher wasn't as frivolous as Danica. I was her equivalent to Gabriel because she was jealous. Nothing between the two of them was ever without a power struggle. So I took it seriously, learning everything I could knowing that one day, of I ever got out, I could use my knowledge to an advantage. Much like you I suppose. With the exception that they told us what to do if something should happen to them. Only problem is, I'm here and he knows it, at least by now he does. He also knows that I'm more calculated than he'll ever be and that puts him in a very bad position but, he's the one out there plotting his revenge while I'm trying to recover."

There were already ideas floating around in King's head as to how he could make this work. All he needed was a day of planning at most. If Josie got strong enough, he could really use her help.

"Don't worry about anything Josie. Abby and I will handle it. All we need from you is a way to find him before he finds us. In the meantime, rest, you're going to need it."

While Josie slept, King headed down to the weaponry supply room and found Caulder and Abby laughing at some unheard joke. Flashes of little Norwegian children resembling Whistler ran through his head causing him to look at the two of them skeptically.

"Bad timing? Would you like me to come back later, I'm sure there are still rooms in the Hideout that you haven't fucked in yet."

Caulder looked at him completely confused and then turned to Abby who was horrified.

"Abby, what is he talking about?"

Pausing a minute, She narrowed her eyes at her partner and replied to Caulder without breaking eye contact with King.

"Pay no attention to him, he doesn't know what he's saying. If you'd excuse us, I think I need a moment with the boy wonder here."

Caulder had no intention of stopping her. Even though he was still unsure of what was happening, he knew that restrained level in her voice and it didn't bode well for his overgrown friend. King knew it too, he immediately paled when her hand forcefully grabbed his splinted wrist and dragged him into the corridor. He could hear her voice hiss silently through her teeth as she spoke to herself.

"You are such a fetus..."

All of a sudden her voice went from quiet and controlled to loud and threatening.

"What the hell is the matter with you!"

Before King knew what hit him he was slammed against the cement wall.

Me! What's wrong with you, Hitler!"

Abby's hand reared back, making King flinched involuntarily. Surprisingly enough, she didn't slap him. Instead, she pointed a cold finger at him, violating King's personal space. Her voice wasn't much better seeing as it slipped down to a low and malicious rumble."

"I have not been to sleep in three days. You've been a complete dick for the last 48 hours and now all you want to do is make jokes and then get jealous of your own ridiculous ideas while trying to embarrass me in the process ? Quit acting like a child King, I'm too busy trying to figure out what to do with that poor girl upstairs to worry about hurting your feelings."

She let go of his injured wrist and it automatically recoiled closer to him. Watching her walk away, King let out an exasperated sigh, biting down his pride.

"Abby..."

She didn't register him calling after her so he tried again.

"Abby c'mon... I need your help with her."

At that she stopped and turned around giving him a stern look. King put his hands gently on her shoulders.

"I'm serious Abs. Josie told me that there is a familiar out there whose looking for us now. The trouble is, he has the rest of the stragglers with him from Josie's coven. They aren't going to be happy when they find her. We have to do something."

Abby stayed silent, but quietly agreed to what he said. King pulled her into a hug with one arm and kissed her on the forehead whispering against it.

"I'm sorry. I am a big baby. I can't help it if I get jealous. I get mad if the Starbucks boy looks at you with a hairy eyeball and all I want to do is jab a venti latte down his throat. So yeah, I guess that makes me immature."

Abby quirked an eyebrow at him.

"Is that your admission."

King weighed his choices in answers along with their effect. He looked at her blissfully innocent.

"Yes?"

This made Abby laugh. King mocked a shameful look and bit his lip. Abby sighed heavily.

"You're still apologizing to Caulder, I hope you know that."

King screwed up his face in a childish disagreement.

"Ma! Do I havta..."

He smiled when he heard her chuckle against him while nodding her head yes. Releasing her, they both retreated back to the medical room. Looking at King, Abby realized just how much he walked like a little boy sometimes. A strange retching sound suddenly caught both of their attention as they rushed into the room to find Josie coughing up blood. But instead of reacting in a panic, she just looked mildly disgusted and glanced up at King as she wiped her mouth. Abby tinkered with the IV machines, checking the levels. Josie spit blood all over her arm and her shoulders just slumped, giving up on trying to stop it.

"Is this normal?"

King grabbed a wet rag and handed it to her, nodding.

"Unfortunately. It'll go away in a few minutes, I promise."

He wiped the remnants from her arm and mouth. She had gone paler too but it was just a natural rejection process as her regular body fluids returned. Abby took a seat next to her on the bed and pushed Josie's hair back from her face, tying it with the spare band on her wrist.

"There, that's better."

Josie looked at her thankfully. Abby couldn't have been any older than she was herself. She could see the suffering of both her and King's hard life evident in the few scars that were visible. Yet, she still sensed Abby's kindness and that's what she liked about the girl.

"King told me that you know of this familiar that we're going to have to deal with."

Josie nodded, spite evident in her actions as she thought of him.

"Gabriel. Yes, I know him all too well. I can almost feel his sneaking eyes glaring at me now."

Josie visibly shivered and her mouth curled into a snarl, her tiny fangs peeking through. She didn't know exactly how right she had been. Outside, the morning was starting to lift in the sky and standing on the roof of a dry dock across the street. A lone man stood with a pair of heat sensitive binoculars pressed against his eyes. Three images were within his range. Two figures burned a hellish red in the room, the one figure in the middle was still a purplish-blue but there was an orange glow slowly spreading throughout her. The man cussed. The cure was working on her. If they had any chance at all, they'd have to strike soon before she turned fully. The man checked his watch. In the next 24 hours, all hell was about to break lose and the Nightstalkers couldn't possibly be ready for it


End file.
